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...including Atkins when I lost 16 kilos in 9 months and then put it all back and more. Typical. Every time I started up again my whole being would freeze up and I would give up on the second day. I just hated the idea of it. I missed bread and pasta and all those things I loved. Ice cream most of all in this very hot place where I live. The upshot of it all is that I am now at the heaviest weight I have ever been. And depressed about it too. And very scared to commit to yet another go at a diet and all that can&#39;t have this and can&#39;t have that. Deprivation does not suit me at all. So how am I going to do this and keep to it for even 30 days?!! Scary thought but I am desperate. Sitting at 118 kilos at 5&#39;6"is no joke - and I own a restaurant where I am involved with carby food every day. But I am here and that is a start. More later.

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Welcome, Marloe! Going primal is definately not about deprivation.

I spent 3-4 weeks battling the "low carb flu," then rebounded feeling AWESOME just when I was about to give up. I feel more satisfied than ever and am enjoying exploring a new cooking style (no grains, legumes, or dairy for me, thanks!) with nearly endless possiblities.

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I agree with BarbeyGirl, this is not deprivation! I find that certain "treats" get me by on those days when I feel really tempted to do some naughty snacking. Pork rinds are one of my favorites (otherwise known as chicharonnes, sp?).

Personally, my "low carb flu" lasted about six weeks, much longer than what I&#39;ve heard from others. I was also about to give up when everything suddenly clicked for me and I felt great! I found that what worked for me was to go ahead and indulge in Primal foods as much as I wanted when I was feeling tempted. And once I got a handle on the exclusion of the grains, etc., then I started trying to rein in the quantities of my vices (nuts in particular!).

Just keep it up and stick with it. When things seem grim, remember that there&#39;s a light at the end of the tunnel and one day, one glorious day, you&#39;ll wonder how you ever lived any differently

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The number one thing to remember is that this is not just another "diet." It&#39;s a way of life. Like BarbeyGirl said, it&#39;s not about deprivation. It&#39;s about replacing bad foods with good foods, finding out what works for you, and streamlining your efforts as you go. It&#39;s a process. Change your eating and exercise habits gradually and always have your mind fixed on the idea of getting to the next step.

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Marloe, take a look at Mark&#39;s Baby Steps article:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-baby-steps-to-help-you-get-primal/

Given your history with diets I think you&#39;ll have more success if you follow that approach vs. jumping in fully committed and then being disappointed in yourself when you fall off the wagon a couple of days later.

It sounds like you have a carb addiction and that can be really hard to break. But the Primal Blueprint offers the best plan (IMHO) to follow to break that addiction.

As Primalchild said, don&#39;t think of this as a diet. It really is a lifestyle and about so much more than just what you eat.

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Everyone has the motivator that finally pushes them over the hump of "but now I can never have potatoes/rice/bread/pasta/ice cream." It sounds like you haven&#39;t found yours yet.

For me it&#39;s a question of reframing what those foods are - they&#39;re poison. I also have the memory of my late father&#39;s gangrenous feet to keep me from ever eating processed, high-sugar carbs again in my life. Nowadays, I look at these pseudo-foods and think "Poison poison poison!" I know more about the way that the body works when carbs are added to the system than I ever wanted to know, and I know exactly how my father&#39;s feet ended up that way. I know exactly what I need to do to make sure mine never do.

Sometimes you need more motivation than just wanting to lose weight. If you think you can handle it, go visit a hospice that&#39;s taking care of diabetics in end-stage gangrene. That will probably provide a visceral motivation. Until I was accidentally treated to the sight of my father&#39;s unbandaged feet, I had no motivation to get healthy, and I was on exactly the same path as he&#39;d been on - heading for diabetes, cancer, and an early death.

Are you eating to live, or are you living to eat? That&#39;s another thing you may want to ask yourself. My father lived to eat. And he paid for it - we all did.

If you hate the idea of giving up something that is slowly poisoning you, that&#39;s something you have to address inside yourself. But I&#39;ll say this: bread and ice cream are just not worth dying for. They&#39;re not. And if you focus only on what you can&#39;t have, you miss everything you can have.

Instead of starving and poisoning yourself with grain-based food, you could be eating filet mignon. Did you feel physically deprived when you were on Atkins? How were your clothes fitting? How was your mood? Focus on those things. If you start thinking "I can&#39;t have ice cream any more," cut that thought off at the knees and say "No, I CHOOSE not to eat ice cream any more, because it will damage my body and cause me health problems that I don&#39;t want."

It&#39;s not a diet. It&#39;s a permanent lifestyle change.

You can do this. Stick around here and you&#39;ll have support.

Primal eating in a nutshell: If you are hungry, eat Primal food until you are satisfied (not stuffed). Then stop. Wait until you're hungry again. Repeat.

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It&#39;s definitely a lifestyle change--think of it as giving up your favorite TV show to go to the best party in town. . .not a big sacrifice!

But, seriously, the comments about not being deprived are so true--check out all of the yummy recipes on MDA (forum and blog). And the fat keeps you satisfied. My experience has been that the longer I eat primally, the less appeal those carb-filled foods have (rather than the other way around when I would "diet").

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Thank you kindly for your welcome and for your helping hands as you push me up this steep hill. I am just angry at having to deal with this. Apart from the carb addiction, I am a foodie and an enthusiastic cook and I love spoiling people with flavoursome food. This is why I have a restaurant. Potato wedges are being baked, there is pasta, basmati rice, couscous and quinoa in the pantry and the apple cake and crème brulee desserts are chilling in the fridge.

I am of the opinion that there are psychological reasons for overeating too...not just carb addiction. I eat when I am happy, sad, angry, despondent, joyous and more... and I get angry when I can&#39;t. When I asked my mother once why she did not feed me less when I was a baby since fat cells are formed early in our lives, she said she tried to feed me less but I would just scream. The appetite was there from the start! Obviously she gave in. The whole family are great cooks and talk recipes and menus all the time. Next life I want to be born into a thin family who don&#39;t have much interest in food!

Sorry...I am venting. And trying to stay away from the half pack of Doritos (corn chips)in my studio. Normally I am a positive kind of person...I might find that me again tomorrow. In the meantime I wish you good night from the southern hemisphere as I head for bed.

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Marloe, I too am 5&#39;6" and my heaviest was 107kg last November and now I&#39;m 72kgs. I totally understand what it&#39;s like to feel depressed about reaching that place.

I agree with what everyone has said, this isn&#39;t about deprivation! However it takes a major mindset change and if you are battling psychological attachment to food then that&#39;s something that may need to address.

I am a bit of a &#39;cook&#39; and also love cooking things for my family. I realised I was making everyone happy with yummy food meanwhile I was depressed each time I looked in the mirror. Looking after your body sometimes means you have to be selfish!